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Ugly Food Shouldn't Go to Waste!

Tell retailers in the U.S. to stop tossing out perfectly edible food because it's not "pretty" enough!

Goal:30,000•Progress:13,525

Sponsored by:The Hunger Site

Americans live in a time of unparalleled abundance. Every grocery store is filled with beautiful, flawless produce.

But did you know that perfection comes at a terrible cost?

According to endfoodwaste.org, retailers across the nation choose to throw away 26% of all produce in the United States is thrown away and therefore never eaten because it's "ugly." As a result, billions of pounds of edible food are thrown away while, at the same time, 48.1 million Americans are food insecure according to Feeding America.

Food that is thrown away simply because it does not meet a certain cosmetic standard is not only a waste of edible food. It's a waste of the resources, from water to fuel, it took to produce the food. As food decomposes in landfills, it releases methane, a potent greenhouse gas which contributes to global warming. A report from the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization entitled "Food Wastage Footprint: Impacts on Natural Resources" stated global emissions from food waste in 2007 were estimated at 3.3 gigatons of CO2 equivalent.

Ugly produce, when wisely marketed as seen by the French supermarket chain Intermarché, can actually even raise grocery store revenues. But American consumers aren't even getting the chance to choose between beautiful produce and their slightly flawed but no less nutritious alternatives.

We can't keep wasting edible food like this. Hungry Americans and the environment both deserve better! Call on the top three grocery retailers in the United States; Wal-Mart, Kroeger, and Target; to change their policies on fruit and vegetable cosmetics and implement an Intermarché-inspired marketing campaign to help change the public's perception of "ugly" produce.

Sign Here

As the top three grocery retailers in the United States, I am writing to you to request that you do your part to end food waste in the nation by choosing to sell "ugly" produce in your stores.

According to endfoodwaste.org, retailers across the nation choose to throw away 26% of all produce in the United States is thrown away and therefore never eaten because it's "ugly." As a result, billions of edible food is thrown away while, at the same time, 48.1 million Americans are food insecure according to Feeding America.

Food that is thrown away simply because it does not meet a certain cosmetic standard is not only a waste of edible food. It's a waste of the resources, from water to fuel, it took to produce the food. As food decomposes in landfills, it releases methane, a potent greenhouse gas which contributes to global warming. A report from the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization entitled "Food Wastage Footprint: Impacts on Natural Resources" stated global emissions from food waste in 2007 were estimated at 3.3 gigatons of CO2 equivalent.

The FDA has no power over deciding which food is sold or tossed, which is why I'm writing to you, imploring you to do something for hungry Americans and our environment.

While Americans are, indeed, conditioned to only wish to buy the most attractive produce, marketing campaigns like that seen by the French supermarket chain Intermarché have proved that wise marketing can drastically sway perceptions.

Please, do your part to end food waste by changing your policies on fruit and vegetable cosmetics and implement an Intermarché-inspired marketing campaign to help change the public's perception of "ugly" produce.

Thank you,

Petition Signatures

Feb 21, 2018Gemma Clark

Feb 20, 2018Ina LippardBefore a large national chain bought out our local grocery store, we had a reduced produce section. I could count on finding usable produce to help have a better diet. We never got sick and rarely had to throw food in the compost. We can no longer waste

Feb 20, 2018(Name not displayed)

Feb 20, 2018june hartyAt a time when many go hungry, this should not happen please correct this.

Feb 16, 2018(Name not displayed)It is a travesty that so much perfectly good food is discarded because it is not aesthetically appealing to shoppers. If only we could reroute these discards to those who are food insecure and/or homeless, it would increase our nation's happiness.

Feb 15, 2018T.J. Pitts

Feb 15, 2018Vianney Ventura

Feb 15, 2018(Name not displayed)

Feb 15, 2018Axa Tolonen

Feb 13, 2018(Name not displayed)

Feb 11, 2018Barb Benedict

Feb 10, 2018Dale Micherone

Feb 7, 2018Janet Signore

Feb 6, 2018(Name not displayed)

Feb 4, 2018Tiffany Baker

Feb 3, 2018(Name not displayed)

Feb 2, 2018Ioanna G.

Feb 1, 2018Danielle Raymond

Feb 1, 2018Janet Phail-Droege

Feb 1, 2018(Name not displayed)

Feb 1, 2018Guglielmo L

Jan 30, 2018(Name not displayed)

Jan 30, 2018Madeleine Hamilton

Jan 30, 2018Roxy King

Jan 29, 2018Michelle Kelly

Jan 29, 2018Cindy Rancourt

Jan 29, 2018Heidi Miller

Jan 29, 2018(Name not displayed)https://www.liveaction.org/petition/

Jan 29, 2018Leigha Henson

Jan 29, 2018Barbara Murray

Jan 29, 2018Anita Hoos

Jan 28, 2018Roberta Kennedy

Jan 28, 2018Shabnam Shafiq

Jan 28, 2018Patrick Weller

Jan 28, 2018Kay Roberts

Jan 28, 2018Ann Razumovskaya

Jan 28, 2018JUDITH LEPLA

Jan 28, 2018Evelyn Kortright

Jan 27, 2018Joanna Ward

Jan 27, 2018Paul Grohman

Jan 27, 2018peggy shreveWith father joes and other shelters for the homeless in san diego, there is no reason you can't freeze "ugly" or left over food and get it to these shelters.

Jan 27, 2018MJ Liddy-MooreWasting food is unforgivable. Do what's done in Detroit by Gleaners. Collect the food and redistribute it to those in need.